---
title: Theo says, "Little lies are nothing, they don't train you for anythi… — Pretend, cover stories and lies that b… · tree and pragmatics
description: Theo says, "Little lies are nothing, they don't train you for anything." What did scientists find? Test 4 · ★★ of lesson 85 «Pretend, cover stories and lies that become habits» of the religion ethics course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each
---

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# Test 4 · ★★ · Pretend, cover stories and lies that become habits

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Theo says, "Little lies are nothing, they don't train you for anything." What did scientists find?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** Theo, Little lies, lies, scientists · **What happens:** say, be, not train, find · **To what, where:** nothing, you · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 4 · ★★ of lesson 85 «Pretend, cover stories and lies that become habits» of the religion ethics course of Mova's primary school. The page gives the question's syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause, then the 4 options as the student saw them, each with its tree and pragmatics. Every text is parsed by Mova itself. How the student answered it, with the score of every option and why: [the test at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/religion-ethics/85-pretend-cover-stories-and-lies-that-become-habits/#t4).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* Theo says, "Little lies are nothing, they don't train you for anything."

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:85-pretend-cover-stories-and-lies-that-become-habits:t4:1
# text = Theo says, "Little lies are nothing, they don't train you for anything."
1	Theo	Theo	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	says	say	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
4	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	Little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	lies	lie	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nsubj	_	_
7	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
8	nothing	nothing	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Neg	2	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
10	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	13	nsubj	_	_
11	do	do	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	13	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	13	advmod	_	_
13	train	train	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	ccomp	_	_
14	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs	13	obj	_	_
15	for	for	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
16	anything	anything	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	13	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	13	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | present | Theo |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **is a** *in a quote* | present | Little lies | nothing |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **not** **train** *in a quote* | present · do-support | lies *= lie* | you |  |  |  | for anything | vn hire-13.5.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent you=Theme |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 2:* What did scientists find?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:85-pretend-cover-stories-and-lies-that-become-habits:t4:2
# text = What did scientists find?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	4	obj	_	_
2	did	do	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	scientists	scientist	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
4	find	find	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **find** | past · do-support | scientists |  |  |  |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent what=Topic |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Big lies come first, and small lies come later

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:85-pretend-cover-stories-and-lies-that-become-habits:t4:o1:1
# text = Big lies come first, and small lies come later
1	Big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	lies	lie	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	come	come	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	first	first	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord	3	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
7	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	lies	lie	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	nsubj	_	_
9	come	come	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
10	later	late	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	9	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **come** | present | Big lies |  |  |  |  | first *property* | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **come** | present | small lies |  |  |  |  | late *property* | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Little lies have no effect on the brain at all

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:85-pretend-cover-stories-and-lies-that-become-habits:t4:o2:1
# text = Little lies have no effect on the brain at all
1	Little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	lies	lie	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	have	have	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	5	det	_	_
5	effect	effect	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	on	on	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	brain	brain	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
9	at	at	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	5	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | Little lies | no effect |  | the brain |  | at all | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent effect=Patient |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Little lies make your brain stronger and smarter, like a muscle that gets trained every day

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:85-pretend-cover-stories-and-lies-that-become-habits:t4:o3:1
# text = Little lies make your brain stronger and smarter, like a muscle that gets trained every day
1	Little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	lies	lie	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	make	make	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	brain	brain	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	stronger	strong	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	3	xcomp	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	smarter	smart	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	6	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
10	like	like	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	muscle	muscle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	parataxis	_	_
13	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	15	nsubj:pass	_	_
14	gets	get	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	15	aux:pass	_	_
15	trained	train	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	12	acl:relcl	_	_
16	every	every	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	17	det	_	_
17	day	day	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	obl:unmarked	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | present | Little lies | your brain |  |  |  | strong *property* | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset brain=Product |
| 2 | **train** | present · passive |  | a muscle |  |  | day |  | vn hire-13.5.3 «NP V NP»: subject=Theme |

### Option 4 · ✓ the right answer {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Repeated small lies made the brain react less and lies get bigger

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:85-pretend-cover-stories-and-lies-that-become-habits:t4:o4:1
# text = Repeated small lies made the brain react less and lies get bigger
1	Repeated	repeat	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	amod	_	_
2	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	lies	lie	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
4	made	make	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	brain	brain	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
7	react	react	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	ccomp	_	_
8	less	less	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	4	advmod	_	_
9	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
10	lies	lie	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	nsubj	_	_
11	get	get	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
12	bigger	big	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	4	xcomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **repeat** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |
| 2 | **make** | past | Repeated small lies |  |  |  |  | big, less *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **react** | present | the brain |  |  |  |  |  | vn respond-113 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **get** | present | lies |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Experiencer |

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**Text:** the tests of Mova's primary school, written for Mova (`world/data/school/`), as the course runner gave them to the student. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each text read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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